Delicious Summer Dinner Inspiration for the Future

There is no end to the variety of delicious burgers you can make, however here are 12 that will make your mouth water.

By J. Kenji Lpez-AltJ. Kenji Lpez-Alt composes a column for The New York Times on food and science, and he establishes recipes and appears in videos for NYT Cooking. He is also the developer and host of Kenji's Cooking Show on YouTube. This video and post belong to, our series on cooking area principles.

Credit ... Adam CentrellaAs a professional chef, food writer and cookbook author, I have actually invested the last twenty years of my career carefully researching and testing dishes, methods and commonly accepted kitchen area wisdom to determine the whys of cooking. Over this time, I have actually operated numerous hamburger joints and even composed a month-to-month column for Serious Eats called the Hamburger Lab, in which I separated and tested every possible variable that can impact the flavor and texture of a burger.

Here are the most crucial ideas I've discovered for optimizing your burger experience, whether in the yard or the cooking area. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

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In bread, this can be a great thing, however with hamburgers, overhandling can develop an undesirable dense texture. (Including extenders, like eggs or breadcrumbs, or extra seasoning, like onions and herbs, likewise forces you to exhaust the meat and distract from the beef flavor, so avoid it.) Salting the beyond your patties keeps their texture loose and tender.

Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Salt breaks down muscle proteins and assists them to link up more quickly. This is a great thing in sausages, which need to have a firm texture, however with burgers, you want looseness. A burger must be tender, with a lot of pockets for juices and rendered fat to collect.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Browning your patties deeply optimizes taste. Credit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Whether you're making a big hamburger on the grill or a crisp-edged smash burger on a griddle, browning is taste, and high heat is essential. For thicker grilled or griddled burgers, wait up until your pan or grill is hot before including the patties, and cook them up until they're well browned on both sides.

This makes the most of taste while keeping juiciness. Don't let your patties sit around on the cutting board (or even worse, a steam table). Hamburgers are at their finest fresh from the fire, before any juices have actually had a possibility to leak out.

Smash BurgersCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Restaurant BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Thick Yard BurgerCredit ... Ryan Liebe for The New York City Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Follow,,, and.

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Upgraded May 7, 2026, 8:42 a.m. CTI've always been a burger enthusiast. Growing up, I 'd happily chomp them down at sit-down dining establishments and from the drive-thru coming home from gymnastics practice. I 'd squish the soft bun and let ketchup dribble down the sides over my fingers. If there were any little melty American cheese leavings stuck on the wrapper, I 'd drag my french fries through them (I still do this).

Capture me on the best day and I may admit that a cheeseburger is my preferred food. Even if you do, it's likely we do not have the very same concept of what makes the ideal hamburger.

Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

I kept some old favorites, added some brand-new ones and continued to leave off the ones I understand people like however I just. Perhaps I haven't tried your favorite hamburger. Possibly I'm out to get you (simply joking).

Let me share with you what makes the ideal burger for me. Let's begin with the patty.

When I bite in, I need to see a little sparkle, some glowing from the beef and perhaps a little grease running down the sides. When I see a smashburger on the menu, I always opt for a double patty. Smashburger or not, the patty needs to be scorched to help lock in the juices, but not too crusty.